Heartache for Death
by Iota
Summary: Hilde's starts to understand her roommate, the entirely-too-lovable "Shinigami", who has an entirely-too-bloody past. He finally trusts her, and she him, but what happens when he disappears?


Disclaimer: Oh, yea . . . If you don't want to contest my flamethrower, I own EVERYTHING! Mwahahahahahaha!!!  
  
Heartache for Death  
  
Hilde unlocked the front door and sighed. Long day. She would take a nice, hot shower which would be followed by a Munch Fest in the kitchen. 'Do we still have chocolate?' She pressed against the door and it swung open. The inside of the house was dark, and the radio was playing softly in the corner of the room. Hilde eased the door closed behind her, turned on a nearby lamp, and looked around. Sure enough, her roommate (a guy her age with a three-foot long braid) was sprawled on the couch, his face buried in a fluffy throw pillow, and was sound asleep. He never slept without noise in the background. And for some reason - Hilde couldn't figure out why - he seemed to like sleeping on the couch.  
  
With a slight smile, Hilde tiptoed through the living room into the short hallway, which consisted of four doors - a closet, two bedrooms, and a bathroom. Her day having been brightened by her roommate's odd habit, Hilde would satisfy herself by just going to bed.  
  
"Hilde-babe," her roommate muttered sleepily, his voice slightly muffled by the pillow, "that you?"  
  
She couldn't suppress a giggle. "Yea," she said, "Yea, it's me."  
  
"Mmm . . ." He rolled over. "Time?"  
  
"Ten. It's still night, Duo," she told him.  
  
"Oh." Duo rolled himself off of the couch, stretched, and eyed her with his large eyes misted with sleep. "Watcha doin'," he asked, "comin' home so late?" He finished the question just in time - right before a yawn. Waiting for her answer, Duo sauntered over to the radio and turned it off. "Date? Party? Game?" He glanced over at her, his eyes laughing. "I didn't miss anything fun, did I?"  
  
She smiled again, shaking her head. "No. Boring as heck. You didn't miss a thing. When did you get home?"  
  
"Umm . . ." Duo scratched the back of his head, tugging lightly at the base of his braid. "'Bout . . Five, maybe? Anywayz, earlier than you." He yawned again.  
  
Hilde shook her head. "I have a question."  
  
"Yea?" Duo leaned against the wall.  
  
"Why do you sleep on the couch?"  
  
"I dunno." He thought about this - or at least 'looked' like he was thinking. "I just kinda sat down today . . . next thing I know, you're home, and it's ten o'clock." He grinned. "If ya don't mind," he pushed past her and wandered towards his room, "I'm goin' back to sleep. 'Night, toots," he said, winking at her playfully as he disappeared behind his bedroom door.  
  
"Night."  
  
Hilde sat down at the kitchen table in her bathrobe, her short blue hair still dripping from her recent shower. She looked sullenly down into her bowl of chocolate icecream and said, "You know what?" Then stopped. She didn't know.  
  
She could hear Duo's radio through the kitchen wall - his room was just on the other side. She liked hearing it; it meant that he was home. She worried about him, no matter how many times he reassured her he'd be okay or that he knew what he was doing.  
  
Hilde jabbed her spoon at her ice cream.  
  
Her roommate - that amiable young man with a three-foot long braid of chestnut hair, large cornflower-blue eyes, and a great sense of humor - was a Gundam pilot. 02: one of five elite soldiers that fought in the Eve Wars 'and' the Barton War against all odds and came out alive. He had been trained by a scientist and had suffered greatly in the hands of life. Still, he could smile. It was how he dealt with things - laugh it off, smile about it.  
  
He listened to the radio to drown out the silence.  
  
Sighing, Hilde chucked her bowl into the dishwasher and wandered to her room. She stopped at his door. 'No matter how loud that radio gets,' she thought, 'it will never be loud enough.' Shaking her head, Hilde turned off the hall light and went to bed herself.  
  
When the alarm buzzed, Hilde rolled over and wondered faintly if Duo would be up. He usually woke up at about 4:30 am, despite his attempts at being "lazy." She wondred if she had anything to do today. If she didn't, she'd get him to go somewhere with her. She didn't like the look that had been slowly creeping into his countenance - the tired look of one who has seen too much, the sorrow of one with a chronic illness, waiting for the end. It was in his eyes, in his smile, and sometimes, it was in the way he talked. He tried to be cheerful, tried to ignore his pain, but Hilde saw it. He had shared this house with her for three years. How could he think she wouldn't notice?  
  
Hilde washed the conditioner out of her hair and turned off the shower. He was pushing her away. The war was over, wasn't it? Why was he pushing her away now? He still wanted her friendship, didn't he? Yes, Hilde decided for him. He just didn't know it, that's all. Maybe he was getting like Heero and just wanted to retreat into himself, hide his emotions, and continue life . . . Hilde didn't think that was it. It was something deep, sure, but it was hard to pinpoint just one cause for something like that.  
  
Tying her shoes, Hilde frowned. "What 'is' it?" she wondered out loud.  
  
"What's what?"  
  
Speak of the Devil. He was leaning down in front of her, gazing curiously up at her face, which had to have a very interesting expression. She'd been getting herself worked up for the past half hour. She blinked. How long had he been there? "Nothing. What's up?"  
  
"Meh . . ." Duo stood up and looked unconcerned. About what, Hilde wasn't sure, but he did a marvelous job about it. "I was gonna ask you the same thing."  
  
"Really?" Hilde smiled kindly at him, which she found she had been doing a lot lately. Her heart just wasn't into it - she couldn't really laugh at his jokes, either. She was worried about him.  
  
"Hey, you got anything to do today?" He sat on the arm of the couch, but didn't move his gaze.  
  
"No, I don't think - Crap! It's Thursday, isn't it? I have classes today." Hilde sighed, cursing her college schedule. 'Damn it,' she thought, 'I may have been able to get to the bottom of this.' "Why?"  
  
Duo shrugged. "No big reason. I wanted to hang out with you before I went to Earth."  
  
"You're going to Earth? When? You didn't tell me that." Hilde glowered at him.  
  
Again, Duo shrugged his shoulders. "Guess I forgot. I'm leaving tomorrow."  
  
"Well, maybe I could go somewhere after school . . . I don't think I have anything else planned." Hilde watched him closely - his expressions, his movements.  
  
He grinned. "A'ight. I think I'll be around."  
  
Hilde nodded, glanced at her watch, and gasped, "I'm going to be late!" before running out the door.  
  
Next chapter: Hilde drags Duo out for a night on the town. He goes willingly... until she insists he has a drink. Why does Duo only drink alone? Find out!  
  
Hehehe. Like my preview? I was trying to sound like those announcer-guys in the old action series shows... I'm so cool. Cough O.o' cough I demand reviews!!! REVIEWS!!! 


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